John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

No, it is my view on it. I would like an integrated development, although I am aware others have a different view.

On the swimming pool programme, Deputy Murphy mentioned the number of pools that have been completed. In my area, work on the Clondalkin pool started in January. It was intended to be a refurbishment programme but the pool was so old it was cheaper and more cost effective to start from scratch. That project is under way and I thank the Minister, his Department officials and the local authority which provided significant funding for the project. As I said, in many cases the local authorities have been very proactive and engaged in this area.

We talked about the local improvement in sporting facilities. As the Minister is present I acknowledge that in my area almost all the GAA clubs, including the Round Towers and Lucan Sarsfield clubs, have seen significant changes, including new changing facilities, all-weather facilities, floodlighting and so on. The changes that have taken place in the past six or seven years have been significant. When I played football with Round Towers, neither our club nor any other had changing facilities. By and large, we changed in the bushes at the corner of the field, but that day is gone. Equally, the facilities in soccer clubs like Esker Celtic and Lucan United have changed significantly. Many of them now have changing facilities or are in the process of construction as we speak.

I acknowledge that many of the smaller clubs have received significant help from the local authorities in advancing their projects. Many of the projects and developments have taken place on lands owned by the local authorities. There has been close co-operation between the Department and the local authority to bring these facilities on board. When we talk about a national sports campus we must keep in mind that local facilities, the feeder facilities Deputy Murphy spoke about, have been provided for a number of years and continue to be provided.

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